Objectives
Determine and Construct models of Hydrocarbons
Equipment and Materials
Gum Drops, toothpicks
Recommended Strategies
Have students determine the hydrocarbon types by the three dimensional shapes of
building models from molecular formulas. Get students in groups of four. Hand out
sheet with molecular formulas of a number of hydrocarbons on it. Give students gum
drops and toothpicks, make sure you designate carbon with a dark color and hydrogen
with a light color. Set down the rules that: 1. Carbon has 4 bonds, 2. hydrogen has
1 bond, and 3. the hydrogens must be as far apart as possible from the other
hydrogens. Let students work on building models, making sure they represent the
different molecular formulas assigned to them. Make sure you incorporate the
tetrahedral bond angle on the model to really be correct.